Denver high school graduates who get Denver Scholarship Foundation dollars and choose to go to the University of Colorado will get an additional $1,000 to $3,000 from the university for tuition and books, officials said Monday.

The scholarship foundation gives between $2,000 and $6,000 to some Denver Public Schools graduates for college.

In its first year, the private foundation — funded by oilman Tim Marquez — gave scholarships to about 200 students from three Denver high schools. This past spring, more than 1,000 students applied for money citywide.

Officials don’t know how many of those students will get awards yet.

The aim for both the nascent foundation and CU is to get more Denver high school students — the majority of whom are students of color — into the state’s flagship university.

Only about 200 of 7,600 freshmen starting at one of three CU campuses are from Denver Public Schools each year.

As of Monday, roughly 100 Denver Scholarship Foundation students were enrolled at the Boulder, Colorado Springs or Denver campuses.

They’ll get scholarship awards of between $5,000 and $6,000 and another $1,000 to $3,000 from CU. They’re also eligible for an $850 state grant and another $3,650 “campus grant,” which goes to the neediest students, said Patrick McTee, director of financial aid at UC Denver.

Taken together, the scholarship funds will cover the bulk of the cost of CU’s roughly $8,000 in tuition, fees, and room and board for in-state students. Scholarship recipients must have attended a DPS high school. Eventually, they also will need to have maintained a 2.0 grade-point average.

One of the recipients is Ismael Ramos, who graduated from Abraham Lincoln High this spring. He’s attending CU-Boulder this August and said he’s ready but nervous.

“I’m worried about the change. It’s a big campus in Boulder,” said the 18-year-old aspiring science major.

Marquez, who attended the agreement signing with his wife, Bernie, said the foundation is about “leveling the playing field” for city kids. The couple has vowed to match dollar for dollar contributions to the foundation’s endowment up to $50 million.

Officials wouldn’t disclose where the foundation was on its fundraising efforts.

“It was a tiny little idea that has since taken on its own life,” Marquez said.

Denver Scholarship Foundation officials have inked similar financial agreements with the University of Denver and the Colorado School of Mines.

DU will match no less than $6,000 per student, and usually gives around $18,000 to Denver Scholarship Foundation students. The School of Mines gives up to $5,000, officials said.

Foundation scholarship money is eligible to students who apply for federal financial aid and private scholarships. Illegal-immigrant students don’t qualify for aid.

In addition to the financial agreement inked Monday at a news conference, CU has been asked to provide additional counseling and other support to students getting foundation scholarships.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said at the news briefing that most kids are smart enough to see the world of opportunity ahead of them.

“The next battle is making sure our universities are working hand and glove with the scholarship foundation,” he said.

DPS Superintendent Michael Bennet said that even though not every student in his district may want to go to college, his job is to make sure they have that choice when they graduate from a city high school.

“If we’re not doing that for the kids in Denver, we’re cheating the next generation and we’re cheating ourselves,” he said.

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